This invention relates to locking mechanisms.
The invention is more particularly concerned with locking mechanisms to prevent rotation of a rotatable nut, or similar component after it has been used to draw two parts into engagement with one another, such as a pyrometer in a sighting tube.
In many applications, such as on vehicles subject to vibration, it is important to be able to lock together two parts, such as mating parts of electrical connectors or the like. In one particular application, optical pyrometers are drawn into position in a sighting tube that extends into the combustion chamber of a gas-turbine engine by means of a screw-threaded nut. Once the nut has been tightened, it is locked in place by means of a length of wire. Although this arrangement is generally secure, it has several disadvantages. The use of wire can make removal and maintenance difficult when the engineer is wearing heavy gloves. Gloves are often needed, such as when the equipment is hot or when the engineer is working in hazardous or potentially hazardous environments. Wire can also puncture gloves, exposing the engineer to the hazardous environment.